Dubai: Dubai has won the ‘Destination of the Year’ award at the 10th World Health Tourism Congress.
Dubai attracted 260,000 medical tourists in the first half of 2015 and the revenues generated during this period exceeded Dh1 billion.
Top specialities accessed by medical tourists in Dubai are orthopaedics, aesthetics, dental, preventive health and wellness and fertility treatments.
The two-day congress was held at the Mohammad Bin Rashid Academic Medical Centre in Dubai Health Care City (DHCC).
Ministers, senior government officials, medical and health experts and other tourism industry stakeholders from more than 80 countries attended the event.
Dr Ahmad Bin Kalban, CEO of Hospital Services Sector at the DHA, received the award, saying: “The combined attractiveness of the place and the availability of excellent internationally accredited health-care services have led to the growth of medical tourism in Dubai. Today, the emirate has emerged as a favourable medical tourism destination on the global map.”
Dr Layla Al Marzouqi, Director of Health Regulation at DHA and the Medical Tourism Initiative in Dubai, added that Dubai’s attractiveness as a destination and the availability of high quality medical care are the key drivers of the medical tourism initiative.
In order to capitalise on these two parameters, the DHA’s medical tourism department has carried out research to identify target markets that are best suited for medical tourism.
